Former US Open champion Andy Roddick has expressed surprise at Novak Djokovic’s decision to part ways with his ex-coach, Goran Ivanisevic, before jokingly suggesting that even his cat could train the 24-time Grand Slam champion.

Djokovic and Ivanisevic, a former Wimbledon winner himself, ended their successful five-year partnership last month. Together, they clinched 12 Grand Slam titles, marking one of the most triumphant player-coach relationships in tennis history.

However, as Djokovic prepares for next month’s French Open, he does so without Ivanisevic by his side. Speaking to Betway, Roddick shared his thoughts on the unexpected split: “Novak’s decision to split with coach Goran Ivanisevic was surprising.

“They’ve had an incredible run and you don’t split easily with someone with whom you’ve won 12 Slams. Breaking up in April is not a plan that would have been put forward at the beginning of the year, so it will be interesting to see what he does.”

However, Roddick has downplayed the necessity of Djokovic having a coach, stating: “I don’t know what someone could tell him that he doesn’t already know. It’s just a question of how much he values that feedback cycle along the way.

“There’s certainly some uncertainty there, but if anyone can deal with those ebbs and flows then it’s Novak. My cat could probably coach him and it would be fine.”

Meanwhile, Ivanisevic recently opened up about his split with Djokovic, revealing a mutual weariness led to their parting: “So yes, we reached a certain level of saturation, as I like to say, ‘material fatigue’, just as a car needs a regular service and tune up, basically I became tired of him, he became tired of me; in any case I didn’t feel like I could help him anymore.”